Seanad debates

Friday, 12 February 2021

Mental Health and Covid-19: Statements

 

10:30 am

Photo of Rónán MullenRónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I give credit for the good programmes and the public service information. I get that RTÉ has a public service obligation and a duty to inform the public. I get that they cannot afford to ignore the gravity of the pandemic. Even so-called light entertainment is engulfed by the issue with large sections of "The Late Late Show" now devoted to discussing Covid each week. There was even an ill-judged attempt to rebrand "Operation Transformation" with a name that referred to Covid. This all pervasive doom and gloom is more than bordering on the irresponsible and we have to wonder indeed if the mental health of ordinary people has suffered as a result. It is no wonder that Lyric FM has seen a 10% increase in its listenership as people seek refuge from the 24-hour Covid news cycle. It sometimes strikes me that those who are most addicted to the news coverage around this issue are those who are most endangered by it.

This morning I listened to Claire Byrne on the radio. She talked to a student about the ongoing leaving certificate imbroglio and she said that this must be terribly stressful on students. If one tells people that things must be terribly stressful for them then it is more than just empathy. It is irresponsibility actually because what one is doing is perpetuating the experience of stress.

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